No water for you - unless you ask your waiter - in Worcester
WORCESTER — With reservoirs depleted to 55 percent capacity, Worcester has banned all outdoor watering, declaring a Stage 3 drought emergency that will trigger the purchase of $1.7 million of water from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
“Eventually it will start to rain again, but we don’t know whether it’s going to be in September, October, or in a year from now,” said Philip D. Guerin, director of water and sewer operations in the city Department of Public Works and Parks. “We need to be prepared for the absolute worst.”
Worcester has been under a Stage 2 drought warning since late July, following a period of prolonged below-average rainfall.
The Quinapoxet Reservoir is one of 10 reservoirs the city relies on for water and is normally at 81.7 percent capacity at this point in the year.
This year Worcester has received 23.44 inches of rain; the average rainfall by this time is 32.79 inches.
But a dry 2015 and 2016 have left the reservoirs at a significant deficit.
“This is like an 18-month problem, not a five-month problem,” Paul J. Moosey, commissioner of public works and parks, said while walking along desiccated mudflats.
Stage 3
restrictions include bans on outdoor watering except with a watering
can. Further restrictions include: Restaurants can only serve tap water
at the patron’s request; cars may only be washed at commercial car
washes; and no permitting or refilling of private pools is allowed.
Also, all water leaks must be repaired.
Fines for violating the restrictions have been increased: For
first-time offenders, the fine has been raised from $100 to $200. For
second and third offenses, fines have been increased from $200 to $250,
and from $250 to $300, respectively. The $300 fine applies to fourth and
subsequent offenses as well.
The city has set a goal of a 20 to 25 percent reduction in overall water use and to maintain consumption at 20 million gallons per day or less. The city plans to buy 16 million gallons of water a day from the MWRA, which will cost $1.7 million for a month. The MWRA administers the Quabbin Reservoir system. City officials will reassess their options in October.
Officials said the deficit is significant.
“The forecast with isolated thunderstorms doesn’t do us any good. We need several days of constant gentle rain,” said Kimberly Abraham, water resources coordinator at the DPW.
Mr. Moosey said the recent rain has been “just enough to settle down the dust.”
“We need a lot of rain,” he said.
But that rain does not appear to be in the forecast.
“We just have a really dry air mass over us and are just not getting a
break, unfortunately,” said Lenore Correia, a meteorologist with the
National Weather Service in Taunton. “Unfortunately it’s the perfect
setup for (drought), and when we are getting rain showers, it’s
unfortunately just a quarter-inch at a time.”
John A. Orr, director of sustainability at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the further restrictions would have a “significant impact” on the campus - showing up as everything from an absence of mums to asking people to stay off already stressed, dry grass.
“The primary thing it changes is we won’t be doing essentially any outdoor watering, any sprinkling of grass ... We were also planning on putting out some fall plantings but will probably put that on hold,” Mr. Orr said. “On the positive side, we’ll have it used as a teachable moment for the community, and let them know and encourage them, whether on campus or in residences, to pay attention to their water use.”
The city has set a goal of a 20 to 25 percent reduction in overall water use and to maintain consumption at 20 million gallons per day or less. The city plans to buy 16 million gallons of water a day from the MWRA, which will cost $1.7 million for a month. The MWRA administers the Quabbin Reservoir system. City officials will reassess their options in October.
Officials said the deficit is significant.
“The forecast with isolated thunderstorms doesn’t do us any good. We need several days of constant gentle rain,” said Kimberly Abraham, water resources coordinator at the DPW.
Mr. Moosey said the recent rain has been “just enough to settle down the dust.”
“We need a lot of rain,” he said.
But that rain does not appear to be in the forecast.
John A. Orr, director of sustainability at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said the further restrictions would have a “significant impact” on the campus - showing up as everything from an absence of mums to asking people to stay off already stressed, dry grass.
“The primary thing it changes is we won’t be doing essentially any outdoor watering, any sprinkling of grass ... We were also planning on putting out some fall plantings but will probably put that on hold,” Mr. Orr said. “On the positive side, we’ll have it used as a teachable moment for the community, and let them know and encourage them, whether on campus or in residences, to pay attention to their water use.”
No comments:
Post a Comment